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I'll get the COVID vaccine the minute it's offered to me. But because of muddled public health communication, there is some vaccine hesitancy among drug users. We already treat health professionals with some suspicion. And our community always swirls in rumour & gossip.
As an injection drug user, I did not know that HIV could be transmitted thru filters and cookers. I learned this LAST YEAR. Clear, direct PARTNERED public health information is essential for us. There needs to be vaccine a communications strategy with BC drug users. I will help.
Lots of us are ready to get the vaccine now. We are no different than any other part of the population. But poor official communication creates confusion. Look how the Premier's Christmas plans had it wrong. This is why I was begging for a mask mandate - because that's clear.
Systemic racism, stigma & discrimination in the medical system mean that we need clear vaccine information from health professionals who are trusted, in partnership with groups like @VANDUpeople @BCAPOM @WAHRS1 @Crackdownpod @bcyadws
Anti-vaxx conspiracy bollocks preys on marginalized people living in news deserts. I heard from at least one person who wants to take ivermectin - not COVID vaccine. This is grim irony, since pig dewormer has been detected in Vancouver's illicit drug supply.
Consider Naloxone. Communities feel ownership & confidence. We know it. It's our thing. We won access thru grassroots acticism. We train each other. Health officialdom need not be involved other than to supply the kits. COVID safety & vaccines could feel like this too.
In January, I started to panic about drug users missing out on the COVID vaccine. Many drug users live in a news desert, an information vacuum that sucks in all kinds of gossip, disinformation and conspiracy theory. So @crackdownpod made this episode: https://crackdownpod.com/podcast/episode-22-were-not-afraid-of-needles-around-here/
I frankly struggled with how to report this out, without actually repeating all that wack garbage - even if only to debunk it in the next breath. Repeating can reinforce. Most people listen to pods with only part of their attention. I could be doing damage.
Also, people were telling me their deep truths: they do not trust doctors, health officials or governments. I had to respect that - because they're right. So much structural violence is done that way. Distrust and avoidance are safety tactics. So we had to find another route.
I looked back over the history of drug user activism. Back to the DTES HIV outbreak in the 1990s. Movements have to do our own homework, relying on sources we trust, and reach our own conclusions. I think we got the balance right on this episode.
I don't usually share the 'reporter's notebook.' Almost every episode, we struggle with issues that revolve around power / structure & agency. To me, this is the practice of movement journalism.
